


could this be love at first sight? (oh wait, I said that before)

by buoyantsaturn



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Secret Relationship, Sharing a Bed, Weddings, i don't remember if all of those relationships are actually stated in the fic but theyre there, i got ALL the tropes in here folks, it's all side relationships except for nico and will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:28:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22795540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buoyantsaturn/pseuds/buoyantsaturn
Summary: Nico sighed, unable to believe what was actually about to come out of his mouth. “Will you come with me to a friend’s wedding?”“Like...as your date?”
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Katie Gardner/Travis Stoll, Mitchell/Connor Stoll, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 26
Kudos: 307





	could this be love at first sight? (oh wait, I said that before)

**Author's Note:**

> i DO NOT consent for this work to be uploaded to the Fanfic Pocket Library app :)))
> 
> anyway!! this was supposed to be up for valentines day,, then for international fanworks day,,,, and then i got busy and my mom just,, showed up at my dorm to hang out?? after a 4 hour drive?? it's been a Weekend folks,,
> 
> please enjoy this fic!! i got this idea a long time ago and finally got around to writing it!! 
> 
> title is from Love At First Sight by The Brobecks!! (the i'm in hell band!!)

Seriously, what were the chances that  _ all _ of Nico’s friends would get married in the same year? Even his own  _ sister _ \- his  _ younger _ sister! - was getting married, and Nico wasn’t even  _ dating _ anybody! How was he supposed to survive so many weddings on his own?

He wasn’t - he needed someone to suffer with him.

Nico called Will.

“What are you doing on February fourteenth?” Nico asked rather than saying  _ hello. _

“Um. I don’t know?” Will answered. “I guess that depends on if I’m dating somebody by then. Why?”

Nico sighed, unable to believe what was actually about to come out of his mouth. “Will you come with me to a friend’s wedding?”

“Like...as your date?” 

“My plus-one. Platonically. I just… Does your family ever pester you about being single?” Nico asked, leaning forward and pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “My friends do that to me  _ all the time, _ and at a wedding, it’s just gonna get worse, so… Please?”

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and Nico braced himself for a rejection. “Free food and an excuse to dress up? Sure.”

Nico breathed out a relieved breath. “Thanks, Will. I owe you one.”

“Just, uh, hang on--” he went quiet for a second, then continued with, “Keep March twenty-fifth open, okay? You can pay me back then.”

“Oh. Okay, sure.”

* * *

Nico wouldn’t admit to anyone the way his heart fluttered when he saw Will waiting for him outside the church that Percy and Annabeth were about to get married in. He’d never seen Will in a suit before, and the cool grey of the material complimented his tan skin and blue eyes perfectly. He smiled so brightly when he saw Nico approaching that Nico almost tripped over his own feet. 

“Hey there,” Will said, bringing a hand out from behind his back. He held out a white carnation and continued, “happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Oh.” Nico took the flower in a mixture of surprise and confusion. “That’s today, isn’t it? I completely forgot, I’m sorry. I hope you didn’t have plans with anybody else today.”

“And leave you without a date? Platonic date, I mean,” Will told him. He held out his arm to Nico. “I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the day as a single man. Ready to go in?”

Nico hooked his arm through Will’s, and allowed the other to lead him through the doors. As soon as they were inside, Nico saw the room filled with white carnations. He elbowed Will in the side. “You totally just stole this from the decorations, didn’t you?”

Will grinned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Nico laughed and pulled Will into one of the pews.

They sat down and tried to get comfortable in the hard wooden seats, though after a few moments, the atmosphere around them suddenly became much more uncomfortable. Grover slid into the pew in front of them, kneeling on the bench and whistling as he looked between them. “Wow, Nico, when I heard you were bringing a date I didn’t believe it was true! And  _ Will Solace _ no less!”

“We’re here as friends, Grover,” Will said calmly, though Nico huffed, crossing his arms and slouching.

“Don’t you have best man duties to tend to?”

Grover jumped up. “You’re right! Things should be starting any time now!” He shot them each a grin before he got up and left. 

Once he was out of earshot, Will leaned close to Nico and said, “Hey, remember how I told you to keep March twenty-fifth open? It’s for my friend’s wedding.”

Nico snorted. “We’re just going to pop back and forth between weddings this year, aren’t we? Because I have at least two more, if you’d like to join me.”

“I’ll probably get invited to another sometime soon, too, knowing my friends,” Will told him. He held out a hand. “Wedding buddies?”

Nico grinned. “Wedding buddies,” he repeated, and shook Will’s hand. 

“You know what might be fun? We should start keeping a tally of how many people assume we’re dating - and next month, I say we play into it.”

“What, like, pretend we’re dating?” 

“More like, we don’t try to convince people otherwise. I just want to see how many people come up to us and assume we’re dating just because we’re here keeping each other company. And maybe we have a little fun and let them believe what they want.”

Nico stared up at Will - with so little distance between them, he could count every freckle on Will’s face, could see every shift in the blue in his eyes - and he thought,  _ yeah, I could date you. _ When he spoke, his voice came out just above a whisper: “Alright, deal.”

Before Will could say anything else, the music started, and Thalia and Grover - as maid of honor and best man - started down the aisle, followed by Annabeth Chase.

The reception lasted late into the night, and thanks to Will’s presence, Nico didn’t have to deal with any pestering about when he would get into a relationship. Unfortunately, he  _ did _ have to endure plenty of teasing about Will, regardless of how many times he insisted that they were nothing more than friends. They were still followed by a chorus of wolf-whistles when the two finally left at the end of the night.

Will lived closer to the reception hall than Nico, and offered Nico a place to crash for the night considering how late it was. Before they had even made it into Will’s apartment, they were practically dead on their feet, and Will barely had a chance to offer Nico a t-shirt to sleep in before they were crashing in Will’s bed.

The next morning was probably the first time in a year that Will had slept in, though even after he woke up, Nico was still fast asleep beside him. He took the opportunity to observe the other - they’d been friends since college, and had crashed in each other’s dorms more than enough times for Will to have seen Nico asleep, but he didn’t think they’d ever shared a bed before. Did sleeping on the same floor count?

All Will wanted to do was pull Nico close and fall back asleep with that beautiful boy in his arms, but instead he rolled out of bed and left the room to avoid the temptation. It wasn’t long after that, though, that Nico was joining him in the kitchen - wearing just his boxers and one of Will’s t-shirts, looking like a dream come true with his hair sticking up every which way. 

Will poured a cup of coffee for Nico - with plenty of sugar, just how he liked it - without being asked, and Nico grunted in thanks. He stood against the counter and let the coffee fumes wake him for a few moments before he took his first sip.

Will smiled at him, and Nico just glared back.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Will said brightly.

“Shut up, Solace.”

That only made Will smile brighter. 

* * *

What were the chances that one of Will’s friends from high school was getting married just a month after Nico’s cousin’s wedding? And what were the chances of Will being asked to accompany the love of his life to said wedding, only to have him return the favor a month later? Will knew that Nico didn’t return his feelings, and he’d accepted that, but to have so many chances to spend time with Nico in such a romantic environment? He had to make the most of this. 

And if that meant pretending to date one of his best friends, that’s what he would do.

Almost immediately after Will and Nico stepped into the banquet hall that would host Travis Stoll and Katie Gardner’s wedding - entering arm and arm, just as they had at Jason and Piper’s ceremony - they were approached by Travis’s brother Connor, who congratulated Will on finally getting himself a boyfriend. Will could feel Nico tense as his side, but Will played it off cooly by replying, “Thanks, and you too! I bet Mitchell’s been going crazy over all the wedding stuff recently. I wouldn’t be surprised if he proposed to you right after the ceremony today.”

Connor got a look of panic in his eyes at Will’s words. “Oh, god, don’t say that too loud - he might hear you. I love him, but don’t give him any ideas so soon, you know? I mean, we haven’t even been together for a year! What about you two? When did you finally get together?”

Will glanced down at Nico with a hum, as Nico stared back up at him with wide eyes, probably thinking something along the lines of  _ you had better not be expecting  _ me _ to answer. _ “It’s hard to say, really,” Will said after a short pause. “We just sort of...stopped being friends all of a sudden and became something  _ more.” _

“It’s only been a few months,” Nico tacked on, “officially, at least.”

Connor frowned. “Didn’t the RSVPs get sent out, like, six months ago? Awfully presumptuous of you to check plus one without knowing you’d have someone to bring, Will.”

“What, you’ve never brought a friend to a wedding?”

They had many more similar conversations throughout the evening, and Nico was starting to get better at crafting lies that fit the canon of his and Will’s fake relationship. It was easy to do once he realized that Will would back up just about whatever he said, and the more he pulled from his own daydreams, the more believable the stories became.

He never once anticipated that he would have to  _ dance _ with Will. Sit next to him, sure, and endure the feeling of Will’s breath on his neck every time Will leaned over to whisper something in his ear. Have dinner, and steal food off of each other’s plates like they’d been doing since college, that was a given. Stand pressed up against the most attractive man in the room while he held one of Nico’s hands and had his other hand at the small of Nico’s back while they swayed in time with the soft, slow music around them? Nico might have actually dropped dead had Will not been holding him up. He  _ definitely  _ wasn’t drunk enough for this. 

His head dropped against Will’s chest when he started feeling tired, but he didn’t want to let go of Will or the feeling of Will holding him so close. Eventually, though, Will whispered in his ear that they should head out soon, and pulled away - though not before Nico felt a suspicious brush of something like lips against his cheek as Will moved. 

Nico nearly fell asleep in the car on their way back to Will’s apartment, though as soon as they laid down in Will’s bed, he was completely wide awake once more. He hated that feeling, when he would almost fall asleep on the couch, but as soon as he stood up to head to bed, he felt like he’d just woken up from a good night’s rest. Will must not have had the same experience, however, because as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out. Nico didn’t mind; it gave him plenty of opportunity to watch Will as he slept - not in a creepy way, but more like he was...in love with the way Will’s curls fell over his face while he slept, and how he murmured while he dreamt but never said any real words. 

That was probably the first time Nico fell in love with Will, back when they were in college. They’d both fallen asleep next to each other somewhere, and Nico had been woken up by the sound of a voice. When he opened his eyes, he couldn’t find anyone around him aside from Will, and almost fell back asleep before Will murmured again. Nico was fascinated. It was like Will held entire conversations in his dreams, but could never fully verbalize them while he slept, so Nico started trying to make up the story happening inside Will’s head based on the tiny shifts in Will’s expression. 

Nico smiled as he listened to Will’s nonsense mumbling, letting it lull him toward sleep. Will rolled onto his side after a moment, toward Nico, and draped an arm around Nico to pull him closer. Nico’s heart jumped at first, though he quickly relaxed into the hold - so similar to when they’d been dancing just a couple of hours beforehand. He tucked his head under Will’s chin and tried to make words out of Will’s muttering.

“I love you,” he thought he heard Will say, but that was probably just wishful thinking.

When Will woke up the next morning, his movement woke Nico as well. Nico glared up at him for disturbing his sleep, and Will smiled sheepishly with a whispered apology. He brushed his fingers through Nico’s hair until Nico’s eyes fell shut again, and Will silently left the room. 

After ten minutes or so of Nico waiting for sleep to overtake him once more, he gave up with a huff. He rolled out of bed and left the room, heading toward the living room where Will was sitting on the couch with a book in his hand. Nico approached him, grabbing a throw pillow off one end of the couch that he threw in Will’s lap before he dropped onto the couch. With his head on Will’s lap, his feet hung over the arm of the couch, yet he was perfectly comfortable, and his eyes slipped shut.

Will set a hand on Nico’s chest. “Couldn’t fall back asleep?”

Nico grunted in response. 

Will reached up and pulled the blanket off the back of the couch, draping it over Nico. He set his hand on Nico’s chest once more, dragging his knuckles up and down over Nico’s sternum until Nico drifted off to sleep. Will kept his hand on Nico’s chest, a comforting weight as Will’s attention returned to his book. 

When Nico woke up the second time, it stuck. As soon as he sat up, he reached for Will’s coffee that had been abandoned on the table in front of them, and grimaced at the taste.

“This is a disgrace to coffee,” Nico told him, his voice rough with sleep. 

“Good morning to you, too, sunshine,” Will shot back. “And it’s your fault I let that coffee go cold in the first place.”

Nico stood and took Will’s coffee cup with him as he left the room, then returned a few minutes later with a mug of his own, and Will’s now reheated drink. 

“Are you doing anything today?” Nico asked after a few sips of coffee, now sounding significantly more awake. 

Will shook his head. “I have the weekend off.”

Nico glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “Video games?”

Will set his book aside in an instant. 

Nico spent another night in Will’s apartment, and had to wiggle out of Will’s hold on him in order to reach for his phone when it started to ring. Had it been anyone besides Jason, Nico would have ignored it and crawled back into the warmth of Will’s arms - he almost did anyway - but he answered the phone with a groaned out, “What?”

“Hey, I’ve been knocking on your door for ten minutes, would you let me in already?” Jason demanded. 

“No.”

Jason hesitated. “Why not?”

“Because I’m not there. Did you need something, or can I go back to sleep?”

“Where are you?”

“I spent the night at Will’s place.” At the sound of his name, Will stirred, and reached a hand out to grab onto Nico’s - Will’s - t-shirt.

“Who’s it?” he mumbled, fighting to open his eyes.

“It’s just Jason,” Nico answered, covering Will’s hand with his own. “Go back to sleep.”

Will hummed, and let himself relax once more. 

“Okay,” Jason said, drawing out the word. “I didn’t realize you two were so...close. Anyway, I guess I just needed to tell you that Piper and I decided on a venue in Paris to make it easier for her family to come. Make sure your passport is up to date - and Will’s, too, I guess, since you checked plus-one on your RSVP card.”

“‘Kay, is that all?”

“Uh, yeah. I guess so.”

“Cool. Bye.” Nico hung up and dropped his phone, then rolled over to Will and wormed his way back into his arms, pressing up against the warmth of the other’s body. 

“Okay?” Will asked, and for a second Nico couldn’t decide whether he was really asking or talking in his sleep again.

“Yeah. Wedding stuff,” Nico replied, and Will hummed once again. A few moments later, they were both asleep.

About an hour or so later when the two woke again, Will curled himself tighter around Nico. “What did Jason want?” 

“They picked a venue,” Nico answered, mumbling the words into Will’s collarbone. “In Paris. You have a passport, right?”

“Mhm. Might need to renew it, though. You taking me to Paris?”

“Depends.” Nico slipped a hand under Will’s shirt and pressed his cold fingers to Will’s skin. “Are you gonna make me some coffee?”

Will flinched, and ripped Nico’s hand away from him, pressing Nico’s hand to the mattress and leaning over him. “Don’t touch me with your icicle fingers!”

Nico grinned. “Quit being so warm and inviting to my icicles. Only  _ you _ can melt my ice cold heart.”

Something changed about the look in Will’s eyes, and the joking expression seemed to wipe from his face. Then, he dropped his weight on top of Nico and pressed their lips together, just for a second, before he yanked himself away. He lifted himself up over Nico and stared down at him with those wide blue eyes. “Um. We need coffee.”

As Will practically ran out of the room, Nico remained where he was, relaxing back into the pillows behind him. His lips tingled from the feeling of Will’s against them, and he felt warmth spread through his body, to the tips of his fingers and down to his toes. By the time he pulled himself out of bed, his cheeks were aching from the force of his smile.

He went out to the kitchen where he found Will staring down the coffee pot, and stopped a few feet away with his arms crossed. Nico cleared his throat to get Will’s attention, and while Will turned to face him, he wouldn’t meet Nico’s eyes. 

“Nico, I--”

“Come over here so I can put you in a headlock.”

Will’s worry instantly flashed into confusion. Despite the anxious way he held his body, Will took a step closer. Nico met him halfway and wrapped an arm around the back of Will’s neck to pull him down to his level, and Will started to fight back until Nico brought them together for a kiss. 

Will’s hands found Nico’s waist to steady himself, and when they broke the kiss, Will was watching him with that same startled expression he’d had ever their first kiss. “You’re not… mad?”

“Of course not. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.”

* * *

Being one of Jason’s best friends, Nico was enlisted to help with as much of the wedding setup as could be done before they got to Paris. He’d even been asked to get an earlier flight out with the wedding party to make sure everything was done and done right by the time guests started arriving. Unfortunately, Will had already requested his time off, and couldn’t leave early with Nico, but promised to make it up to him once he finally did arrive. 

Even worse than being in one of the most romantic cities in the world with his boyfriend was dealing with the teasing he had to endure from his so-called friends. Nico had decided to take an oblivious approach right away - he and Will weren’t the clingiest couple around their friends, and had never bothered to confirm their suspicions on the nature of their relationship - so anytime his romantic entanglement with Will was mentioned, Nico played dumb. They’d been friends since college, and acted just the same as they always had around each other. What was so weird about inviting his purely platonic friend to a wedding in Paris as his plus one?

Nico had paid for a limited amount of international minutes for emergencies, but also so that he could call Will before he went to bed each night they were apart. As he settled into bed that night, he called Will, who was just leaving the hospital he worked at. 

“Hey there, Darling,” Will answered, and Nico could hear the smile in his voice. They spent a few minutes updating each other on the days they’d had, and Will reminded Nico of what time he would be arriving in Paris the next day. “I also have an idea that you’re either going to love or absolutely hate.”

Nico snorted. “Well, when you say it like that, how could I say no?”

“Before I tell you what it is, I need to know whether you paid for international data.”

Nico frowned. “No, just minutes. Why?”

“And did you pay for wifi at the hotel?”

“No, but it’s free in the lobby, so I just go down there if I need to do anything important.”

“Great! I think we should go Facebook official.”

“We should...what?”

“You know, how people put their relationship status on Facebook?” Will explained. “I think we should do that, like, tonight, because then, for as long as we’re in Paris, we won’t have any way of seeing what anybody has to say about it. And we can just play things off like normal. Don’t you think it’d be hilarious if everybody we know here in the states knew about our relationship, but everyone that’s actually with us in Paris had no idea until they went back home?”

Nico smiled. “You do whatever you want, babe, but I don’t even have Facebook.”

“You don’t?” Will hummed. “Alright, that might not work as well as I thought, then. I’ll think of something else, trust me, it’ll be great.”

“Whatever you say.”

“You should get some sleep, sunshine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Nico smiled so wide that his cheeks started to hurt. “Yeah. I can’t wait.”

Nico ditched last minute setup early in order to meet Will at the airport, despite Jason’s complaints that Will could just get a cab there - and if they were truly  _ just friends _ like Nico insisted they were, then Will should be fine on his own. Nico simply flipped him off and got in a cab. 

They dropped Will’s bag at the hotel before venturing out into the city, ignoring their responsibilities to the wedding setup. They only had a few days to spend abroad, and they were going to make the most of them. They visited the Louvre, and saw the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, and Will insisted on taking a cheesy picture with Nico outside each of them. 

It was late by the time they finally returned to the hotel, and crossed paths with Piper in the lobby. She crossed her arms and glared when she saw them. “You skipped out on the rehearsal dinner.”

“We’re not in the wedding party,” Will pointed out with a confused pout.

Nico shrugged and told her, “Will wanted to see the Louvre.”

Piper looked between them. “Mhm, I’m sure that’s all you were doing.”

Nico frowned. “Okay, well, it’s late, so we’re gonna head to bed. You probably should too, since, you know...you’re getting married tomorrow?”

Piper poked him in the chest. “di Angelo, you are  _ so _ lucky I’ve got so much to do.”

Nico rolled his eyes and grabbed Will’s sleeve. “C’mon Will.”

“Goodnight, Piper,” Will said as they passed. “See you tomorrow!”

They took the elevator up to the room they were sharing, and as soon as they were inside, Will flopped onto one of the beds. Nico frowned from his place on the other bed. “I hope you’re not planning on sleeping over there when there’s so much empty space over here with me.”

Will flapped a hand in the air above him. “But you’re so...far. And I’m so tired. You come to me.”

Nico stood up and leaned over Will. “Don’t make me use my icicle fingers on you again.”

Will propped himself up on his elbows. “There’s no way you’re still so cold in  _ July.” _

“If you get up now, you won’t find out.”

With a sigh, Will got to his feet, his movements slow until he wrapped his arms around Nico’s waist and tackled him into the bed behind him. 

“Hey!” Nico shouted, and wiggled his hands up until he could hold his fingers against Will’s neck. “You asked for it!”

Will pulled Nico’s hands away and pressed them to the mattress, and leaned down for a kiss.

As soon as Nico saw Will in his suit, he wanted to take him right back out of it, but Will insisted that they needed to leave, and forced Nico to get dressed as well. They were two of the first guests to arrive, which made it easy for Jason and Reyna to find them beforehand and stare down the arm that Will had around Nico’s waist. 

“Nico,” Jason said in his stern dad voice. “Do you have something you’d like to tell us?”

Nico raised an eyebrow at him. “Uh, no?”

“Leo told us that the two of you are together,” Reyna clarified. “Is this true?”

Will looked down to meet Nico’s eyes for a second, and they both started shaking their heads. “Nope, we’re just here as friends,” Will told them, though his arm stayed firmly planted around Nico’s waist. 

“Besides, did Leo even show you any proof?” Nico demanded. 

“No, but he mentioned something about a post on one of Will’s social media accounts,” Jason said.

“Well, I’d show you all of my accounts if I could,” Will told them, “but I didn’t pay for international data, so I left my phone in the hotel room, sorry.”

“Anyway, we’d better go get our seats before the place fills up,” Nico said, ignoring the mostly empty room around them. “See you guys in there.”

Inside the next room, there were a few more people milling about, and Nico spotted his sister already rising out of her seat. Hazel practically tackled Nico with the force of her hug, and the high-pitched squeal of her voice was sure to leave his ears ringing.

“I’m so happy for you two!” she announced, and backed away to smile at the two of them. “Why didn’t you tell me you two had gotten together?”

“Because we haven’t,” Nico told her.

“But Leo said--”

“Why did Leo of all people spring for international data?” Nico asked rhetorically, though he still looked up at Will for an answer.

“Couldn’t tell you, sunshine.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, Hazel,” Nico said.

“But you still came together, right?”

“Yeah,” Will answered, “I’m his plus one.”

Hazel frowned in confusion. “Um. Okay. You two should come sit we me and Frank so we can all catch up on...whatever the two of you have been up to.”

They followed Hazel back to her seat and claimed the two beside them for themselves as they greeted Frank. The four of them chatted for a while as they waited for the ceremony to begin, and soon enough the room was filled with people - Piper’s French relatives taking up most of one side, while Jason’s friends and family filled up the other. Music began to play, and Reyna and Leo, as best woman and man of honor respectively, started down the aisle, and the ceremony began. 

Nico spent most of the ceremony with his head on Will’s shoulder and one hand resting on Will’s thigh, while Will’s arm was stretched out behind him. He’d gotten a few confused looks that he noticed out of the corner of his eye during the ceremony, and many more after everything was all said and done. Still, Nico and Will played it off like it hadn’t happened, and went to the reception along with everybody else. 

Percy was the next one to point out their supposed relationship as he dropped into the seat across from them at dinner. “Dude,” he started, “are you two actually together? Like, for real? Because Grover mentioned something to me at my wedding about the two of you, but I didn’t believe it, and then Leo said--”

“Again with Leo spreading rumors,” Nico said, rolling his eyes. “Did he actually have any proof, or was he just talking?”

Percy’s head tilted. “Yeah, he showed me this picture from Will’s snapchat--”

Nico turned to Will with a frown. “What picture?”

Will’s eyes widened. “Um--”

“Hang on, I’ll go get him and he can show you himself,” Percy said, and just like that, he was gone.

Will stood as well, and held out a hand to Nico. “C’mon, let’s try to get lost on the dance floor and maybe he won’t bother us again.”

Normally, Nico hated dancing, especially when there were so many witnesses around, but the thought of Will holding him close as they swayed back and forth to the music was enough for Nico to take Will’s hand. He was pulled to his feet and taken across the room to the dance floor where Will weaved them between dancing couples until they were perfectly invisible among the rest of the crowd. 

That could only last so long, though, and soon enough they were found. Not by Leo or Percy, but by Piper. She grabbed onto the sleeve of Nico’s jacket and pulled him - and by extension, Will - back to the tables where they were instructed to sit as she stood over them with her arms crossed. Of course, Will sat in the nearest chair, and Nico let himself be pulled into Will’s lap. 

“Why is everybody at  _ my _ wedding talking about  _ your _ relationship?” Piper demanded. 

Nico and Will shared a look over Nico’s shoulder. Nico replied, “What relationship? Will and I are just friends.”

Piper looked them up and down - at Will’s chin resting on Nico’s shoulder, at his arm fastened securely around Nico’s waist to hold him on his lap - and glared. “You call  _ this--” _ she waved a hand at them as if to specify  _ everything about them, “--just friends?” _

“Yep,” Nico answered cooly. 

Piper spotted someone behind them and called out, “Lacy!  _ Viens ici.” _ She pointed at Nico and said, “Listen closely, because you’ll need to translate for  _ him.” _

“You speak French?” Will asked, his voice low in Nico’s ear. “That’s hot.”

Nico grinned and winked, then turned his attention back to Piper.

_ “Qui sont ils?” _ she asked, gesturing to Nico and Will, and Nico whispered to Will the translation:  _ who are they? _

Lacy looked at them and smiled brightly.  _ “Ils s’appellent Will et Nico! Ils sont amoureux!” _

Nico felt his cheeks heating up as he translated, “That’s Will and Nico, they’re...in love.”

Piper asked,  _ “Comment le sais-tu?” _

_ “Leo m’a dit.” _

“Leo told her.”

“Leo just can’t keep his mouth shut, huh?” Will pressed a smile into the side of Nico’s neck and told him softly, “I do love you, though, you know.”

Nico covered Will’s hand on his stomach with one of his own. “Do you really?”

“Of course I do, sunshine, I’ve always--”

Just then, Percy and Leo ran up to them, and Percy shoved a phone in Nico’s face. “Look, Nico, here’s the proof!”

Nico took the phone and stared at the picture - it was a screenshot of a picture Will had posted to his snapchat story from the camera roll. Nico didn’t remember ever seeing the picture, but it was clearly him in it that Will was kissing on the cheek. The caption on the image said, “Can’t wait to reunite with my love in Paris,” with a small assortment of heart emojis scattered over the image.

Nico twisted in Will’s lap just enough that he could look him in the eye when he said, “I love you, too,” and pulled him in for a kiss. 

It didn’t last long, but during it he heard a few surprised exclamations, including a shout from Piper who said, “You’re not helping, Leo!” and a squeal from Lacy that sounded something like,  _ “Trop mignon!” So cute!  _

When they broke apart, Piper fixed them with another glare and said, “I think I’m going to have to ask you two to leave.”

Nico grinned and hopped off Will’s lap. “That’s fine, we were on our way out anyway.” He took Will’s hand and pulled him toward the nearest exit.

Percy whooped and called after them, “Welcome to the family, Will!”

Nico ordered a bottle of champagne to be sent up to their room, and by the time the bottle was half empty, Will and Nico were lying pressed together between the sheets, content and warm and a little bit buzzed. 

Will trailed a finger up and down Nico’s spine as Nico made himself comfortable with his head pillowed on Will’s chest. “Okay, so I’m a little bit tipsy,” Will started, his voice barely above a whisper, “but I’ve been thinking.”

Nico lifted his head, resting his chin on Will’s chest. “Hmm?”

“If I asked you to marry me right now, what would you say?” 

Nico’s heart stopped. He felt like something inside his chest was constricting, and like the walls were closing in around him. 

“I’m not going to,” Will said, just as calm as before, not betraying the pounding of his heart that Nico could clearly feel. “I’m just curious.”

Nico frowned and pinched Will’s side. “You gave me a  _ heart attack! _ I thought you were, like,  _ actually _ asking!”

“Well, I might, one of these days, and you’ll need to be prepared,” Will told him, offering Nico a soft smile to match his voice. “But I don’t want to ask unless I know you’re going to say yes. I mean, if we’re together for, like, five years and we’re not engaged yet? You can bet I’ll be dropping hints like crazy.”

Nico’s breath caught. “You’re...really serious about this, huh?”

Will trailed his fingers up to Nico’s hair, twisting gently in the strands. “Of course I am. I’d say yes if you proposed with a  _ Ring Pop.” _

“Good to know that I won’t have to drop a thousand dollars on a ring, then,” Nico joked, but Will’s gaze just softened even more. 

“I love you so much, Nico.”

* * *

A month later, Will was a groomsman at his brother’s wedding, so while he and Nico were technically there together, they spent most of their time there apart. 

They finally came together for a dance after dinner, and Will started whispering in his ear, “What did you think of the cake?” or “I like the color scheme they chose, don’t you?”

Nico tried to keep up with everything Will was saying, while trying to keep Will’s talk of proposing out of his head.

“Yeah, the, um, they did a great job with the decorations,” Nico told him, and Will’s smile was the brightest thing in the room.

* * *

Since he’d officially become “part of the family,” as Percy had insisted, Will was invited to Frank’s bachelor party, though Nico wondered if that was just because they wanted someone responsible around when everybody started drinking. Will wasn’t much of a drinker to begin with, so Nico made the decision early in the night to go easy on the booze so that Will wasn’t left babysitting. 

Frank, not being one for partying, had requested a simple get-together with video games, junk food, and alcohol, though Percy and Leo seemed to have pre-gamed, and took the party one step closer to crazy. 

Nico was in the middle of absolutely  _ destroying _ Frank in their third round of Smash when something hit him in the back of the head. He waited until the round was finished before he turned around and saw Percy and Leo digging through one of the candy bowls.

“Found one!” Leo exclaimed, and was immediately tackled to the ground by Percy. 

Nico scanned the room, but he didn’t see Will anywhere. He abandoned his controller and jumped to his feet, narrowly avoiding a collision with Jason who dove for Nico’s controller. Nico ran to pull Percy and Leo apart, and got in between them to rip the candy out of their hands before they hurt each other. 

“Neeks, give it back!” Leo shouted.

“That’s the last one!” Percy said. “Give it to me!”

Nico managed to get the candy away from both of them and got to his feet just in time to see Will walking back into the room.

“Will!” Nico called out, and tossed the plastic wrapping.

Will caught it in surprise, and his eyes widened as he slowly lifted his gaze to Nico.

Nico wanted to figure out what that look was for, but before he could start toward Will, Percy and Leo pulled him back to the ground. He could just barely see the TV around the limbs that were preventing him from moving away, and saw that Jason and Frank had just finished the round they were playing. Nico called out, “Frank! Help!”

“Percy, Leo, come grab controllers,” Frank said over his shoulder.

Amazingly enough, they listened.

Nico hurried off toward his boyfriend, about to ask what the surprised look was for when he glanced down at the plastic-wrapped candy Will was delicately cradling in his hands. When he caught the glint of that shiny green wrapper, he instantly knew what he’d done.

“Nico--” Will started, but Nico didn’t allow him to finish. He grabbed Will’s arm and dragged him to the nearest door, which just so happened to lead them outside. Being late October in the middle of the night, it was cold enough for them to see their breaths, though with the rate Nico’s heart was pumping adrenaline through his veins, he couldn’t feel the cold at all. 

Will kept his eyes glued to the Ring Pop in his hands. “Darling, I know you didn’t think of it like that--”

Nico snatched the candy away and tore open the wrapper. He took out the ring and dropped down to one knee, and realized when he held the ring up to Will that his hands had started to shake. “Will,” he started, and cleared his throat to keep his voice from cracking with nerves, “I love you. I know you know that, but… I don’t think I show it enough. I can’t promise you anything right this second, but… Will you marry me someday?”

Will looked like he’d just witnessed a plane crash - his eyes wide and mouth hanging open in shock - and Nico felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest. He thought he might throw up or pass out or die on the spot, and then Will smiled. His entire face lit up, and Nico’s own cheeks ached just from looking at Will’s beaming smile. Will knelt down in front of him and pulled Nico into his arms, laughing softly into Nico’s ear as he said, “I love you so much, sunshine.”

Nico pushed himself back, his lips turned down and a furrow between his brows. “Are you...laughing at me? I just… I just put my whole heart on the line just now, and… I thought this was what you wanted!”

Will took Nico’s face in his hands and brought him in for a kiss - soft, short, and sweet. “Of course it is, darling, but I don’t want you to do anything you aren’t comfortable with. Are you sure this is what  _ you _ want?”

Nico took Will’s left hand and slipped the Ring Pop onto his finger - it wouldn’t slide past the second knuckle. “I want  _ you, _ Will. I’d do anything for you.”

“I’d do anything for you, too, which is why--” Will took off the ring, and pressed it into Nico’s hand, careful not to touch the candy jewel to Nico’s skin, “--I’ll let you off the hook. For now, at least.”

Nico seemed to deflate, finally feeling the chill of the air around him. “Okay. Okay, fine. But when I buy you a real ring, you’re not allowed to return it.”

Will kissed his forehead. “Deal.”

* * *

Hazel asked Nico to give a speech at the reception, and even with a microphone in his hand he spoke so quietly and mumbled his words together so much that he could hardly be heard. It sounded like he’d rather be getting his teeth pulled than give that speech in front of the crowd, and all he could do was speed through it to get it over with. 

As Will watched the love of his life suffering through his worst nightmare, Leo appeared at Will’s shoulder and groaned, “I can’t believe you’re  _ dating  _ him. It must be a fight just to get him to hold a conversation with you!”

Will laughed, and kept his eyes on Nico as he replied, “Are you kidding? It’s a fight to get him to shut up sometimes.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!! if anybody happens to be reading this on the unofficial ao3 Fanfic Pocket Library app, please report the app for stealing work which i did not consent to be used on the app


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